Mecole Hardman made a mistake early on Sunday against the Oakland Raiders that cost his team the chance to score. Fortunately for the Kansas City Chiefs, the rookie wide receiver more than made up for it later in the game after heeding some advice from Patrick Mahomes.
The reigning league MVP explained after the Chiefs 28-10 victory over their longtime division rivals that Hardman took too long getting out of a route in the first quarter, leading to a third-down incompletion. Mahomes quickly took his team's newest weapon aside to stress the need for him to prioritize speed in his route-running, guidance that later led to the first touchdown of Hardman's career in a four-catch, 61-yard performance.
“I think it was just him finding the speed of the game,” Mahomes said, per Sam McDowell of The Kansas City Star. “He’s still a young guy, and it’s just his second game in the league. He realized that he has to be fast with his cuts. He kinda tried to sell it a little bit more with a nod, and he was open, but it was late, and the pressure was there.
“So I just told him, you have to speed it up. You have to play with that speed; use your speed. You saw him the rest of the game — he sped it up and made big plays for us.”
Hardman's in-game improvement was especially significant considering Kansas City played without Tyreek Hill, who's nursing a clavicle injury that will sideline him for another two or three weeks. While the Chiefs are obviously better off with the league's fastest player in the lineup, his absence provides an opportunity for Hardman to make more of an impact than he would otherwise, a development that could prove a boon later in the season.
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